West Lothian MSP ups pressure on minister for meeting over station

Oct 9 2008 by Marjorie Kerr, West Lothian Courier

A WEST Lothian MSP has repeated her call for an urgent meeting with the Scottish Transport Minister to discuss plans for a railway station in a local community.

Mary Mulligan  has voiced concerns that the minister, Stuart Stevenson, could not give a date to meet her and campaigners from the Platform Blackridge group.

The MSP said she had made a request for the meeting but had been told Mr Stevenson did not have time available to meet the campaigners calling for a new station in Blackridge as part of the Airdrie to Bathgate rail link.

Mary said she was concerned the delay in arranging a meeting could impact on the possible creation of a station in the village.

She said: “When I contacted the Transport Minister’s office I received a reply saying he couldn’t give a time or date to meet with me and a deputation from Platform Blackridge.

“Our concerns are that the longer this drags on the more unlikely it is that Blackridge will be included in the overall plan.

“Everyone seems to be saying that it is a good idea to have a station in the village, but until the Minister confirms this, the people of Blackridge will not get one.”

The Scottish Government said Stuart Stevenson has not refused the meeting, and said the confusion had arisen when a wrongly worded letter had been sent in response to the request.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Mr Stevenson’s availability is extremely restricted at the moment due to diary commitments but we’ve checked back through the records and unfortunately the letter which has gone out has been drafted incorrectly in relation to this specific request.

“The Minister’s diary secretary is trying to identify a suitable gap to accommodate such a meeting.”